Someone Sightless
by Sardonic Kender Smile
Summary: Now married to Eliwood and without her brother, Ninian has her worries...but knows she will not be lead astray. A lesson in love, life, and what it means to be a person.


_A/N: Although it may seem as if I am simply made of complete and utter randomness, I am also a complete and utter hopeless romantic. And SO, since at the moment I am only writing humor, my cheesy ideas needed SOMEWHERE to go…thus my second oneshot is born. I've always wanted to write an EliwoodxNinian fic, plus I realized that Ninian's "happily ever after" would be kind of sketchy, so I had to explore that. And, to top it all off, I think I made some actually deep points (yay)! So…well, I hope you enjoy it._

_**Someone Sightless**_

The sun had just begun to set. My position from where I stood on the marble balcony provided me with a breathtaking view of the garden, every tree immense and grand and beautiful, reaching up to the little blue left in the sky amidst all the rich reds and oranges. All the green leaves were splashed with gold, as if the waning sun had bestowed its last rays upon them as a gift. Little birds took to the air in a shower of feathers and graceful wings.

It was beautiful. It was…warm. I couldn't remember ever being this warm before. Before, I knew only cold.

I wondered if Nils was cold.

I leaned my elbows upon the balcony's railing and amidst all that beauty sank back into my usual melancholy thoughts. Although I should have been the happiest being alive, I just could not shake my reminiscent moods. They seemed to be a part of who I was.

I felt bad sometimes, standing in such joy and knowing my brother was all alone and far away. I missed him very much…Nils was the only one who ever truly understood the thoughts dancing through my head. I didn't want him to be alone, but either he would be or I would be…and he was selfless enough to sacrifice his happiness for mine. Words could not describe how grateful I was, that Nils would let me finally live in warmth and light and…love. As much as I missed my dear brother, a part of me wondered how long I would have lasted without love.

"I know _that _face." A very familiar voice spoke, just as a very familiar presence stopped at my side. "Ninian, are you troubled?"

"No," I answered, finally tearing my gaze from the garden and from my memories of Nils to look upon a concerned Eliwood. "You needn't worry…I was just thinking."

"About Nils?"

He knew. Of course he knew. He made it his business to know, made it his priority to make sure I was never unhappy with anything ever again. That was what he swore to me…and a man like Lord Eliwood never backed down on his word.

I lowered my gaze from his. "…Yes, my lord."

He sighed gently. "Forgive me, but…sometimes I don't know how to console you about this matter, Ninian. I want to promise you that he is alright, but I have no guarantee…"

"Every word you speak to me is a guarantee, my lord," I whispered as I closed my eyes. True love is blind, I knew…therefore, I did not have to trust my eyes. Lord Eliwood could have told me anything he wished—he could have told me the grass was as blue as Lord Hector's hair—and I would have happily believed him. Better still, I knew that he would never, ever, tell me such a falsity. If a blind true love wants to survive, it must be trusting.

"I wish it were really so, _my lady_." His words were sincere, but he added the last part teasingly. He had asked me to stop using his title with him, but it had been a habit too hard for me to break. So, to make it fair, he insisted that he should be able to use a title with _me._

I was a noble lady.

That thought was nearly impossible to think, though for quite a while it had been true. Me, a lady! Of course, there was a lot of responsibility attached to the honor of becoming the wife of a marquess…

Eliwood sighed once more, determined this time instead of tentative, and asked me, "Are you happy, Ninian?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed, locking my eyes on his and praying he could read the sincerity flooding through them.

"Alright." He smiled one of his calm smiles, one which always managed to make a shiver run up my spine. "If you are happy…then I am sure that Nils is happy as well."

I found my smile matching his. "Yes…that sounds very much like my brother." I looked away from him then, back into the peaceful garden. Why did the world never match my emotions? How could the outside world be so tranquil when within I felt so tangled up? Even with Nils out of my mind, I had other things to worry about…

Eliwood stood behind me and gently wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Ninian…you are still uptight about something."

"I-I'm not uptight," I insisted, twisting my hands together. "I just…sometimes I worry…"

"About what?"

"…About duty, I suppose." I fidgeted.

"Please tell me what the matter is."

"I…I have yet to bear you a son."

Eliwood laughed. "We've only been married for four months!"

He lowered his hand, taking one of the hands I was wringing—the one with the golden ring on it—and holding it in his own. I blushed.

"B-but my lord, I know there isn't a child growing inside of me yet. And sometimes I wonder…what if…what if I cannot have children?"

"What makes you think that?" He began stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.

"Because…" my voice lowered to a whisper. "Because I am…different."

"I told you that doesn't mean anything."

"But what if it does?" I was really starting to worry now. "What if it does?"

"Why would it matter?" His voice softened. "You know that I love you for who you are, not _what _you are. That should be all that matters."

"It still does not change the fact that I might not give you a son. Do you not want a child, my lord?"

Eliwood thought a moment. "Well…of course I do. I don't know what man wouldn't, at some point in his life or another. But we are still young. It is important that we start learning how to be _good _parents before we are parents at all. Besides…" He leaned his head down and teasingly whispered in my ear, "If we can't have a child, it won't be for lack of trying."

"My lord!" I exclaimed, feeling myself turn bright red.

He just laughed, moving his arms from around my shoulders to around my waist so he could hold me tighter. "At any rate, Ninian, we can always adopt."

"Are we allowed to do that?" I asked uncertainly.

"…I am not sure." I was almost positive he was smiling. "There's the business about a bloodline…but what does it all mean, anyway? You can have royal blood and still be a terrible person."

"My lord…am I a person?" I whispered the question, almost too afraid to ask it. It was not the question I feared…it was the answer.

"Of course you are a person!" Eliwood exclaimed, his voice flooded with worry. "Do you think you are not?"

"I…I don't know," I answered quietly. "It's just…four months ago, at our wedding, Lady Lyn told me that a person like me was perfect for someone like you. It was so very kind of her to say, but it made me wonder…am I even a person at all?"

Eliwood spun me around and grasped my shoulders so he could look into my eyes. "Ninian, why would you even think such a thing?"

"Because…I am not human."

Eliwood lowered his eyes and sighed. When he spoke, his voice was soft.

"No," he agreed, "…You're not."

I felt my eyes widen and my throat tighten. Of course I knew I wasn't human…but Eliwood had never cared. He had told me I was just like everyone else. Did this mean my worries were rightful? Was I not supposed to be with him? Could he not love me, just as I had always thought, because I was _so different_?

"Ninian," he repeated, "You are not human."

I looked down at the ground, wondering if I could find the pieces that were breaking off of my heart there.

Eliwood spoke again, still quietly. "…Humans are greedy. They're deceitful. They lie and cheat and steal. They will go mad for power, and mad _with _power. They can feel anger and lust and jealousy. They can hate." He cupped my chin in his hand and gently lifted my head so I was looking into his eyes again before whispering, "So you…are too good…to be human."

I'm not sure what came over me then…I just broke down, burying my face into his chest and starting to sob. The last time I had cried like that was the day he had first told me he loved me. I remembered I could do nothing then but weep out my pent-up emotions and whisper his name.

So for the second time since I had known him I was sobbing in his arms, tears of pain and _relief_ and confusion and who knew what else streaming from my eyes and staining his shirt. I had so much emotion inside of me that I had to let it out _somehow. _And, also for the second time since I had known him, Eliwood stayed calm and did not say a word, just holding me tight for however long it would take for me to be happy again.

"It is you, my lord, who is too good to be human," I whispered when I could speak again.

He chuckled softly. "I wish that were so. But I have my faults." He pressed a kiss into my hair before adding, "You, however, are faultless in my eyes."

_For true love is blind, my lord…_

"And therefore, Ninian, you shall have to help me be a good ruler." He smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"You make it sound like it's such a wonderful thing to not be a human," I murmured.

He looked up at the sky, as if maybe the clouds painted out the answers for him. "Perhaps it is. Perhaps it is not. Humans are very good at feeling, you know…pity and friendship and love and all the other wonderful things to feel. But you are good at those, as well. So you see…you needn't worry about anything." He held me tighter, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. "You are a fine ruler, a fine wife, a fine sister, and will be a fine mother when the time comes."

"I will do my best, my lord," I said demurely.

-----

It seemed that all my fears and concerns had all been…swept away. Eliwood had always had that effect on me, the instant ability to make me smile.

I giggled a bit as I sat alone in our room that evening, curled up on the window seat and wondering if "swept" was the right word. Yes, I had decided, it was certainly right. That was the very line he had said to me when confessing his love: "if something troubles you, let me sweep it away".

I found myself laughing again. Such a speech! He was more of a hopeless romantic than I was.

"Pardon my forwardness…" a voice said, "But what is so funny, m'lady?"

"Oh, nothing," I replied, turning to face the speaker. It was one of the servants with her broom in hand, come to tidy up the room. "Just…the past catches up on me sometimes."

"The past…" the servant murmured. She started to sweep up the floor. "You must have had an interesting past, huh, m'lady?"

I leaned back against the window. "Oh yes…very interesting."

"Nobody really knows anything about you," she said with a nervous laugh, now moving on to make the bed. I hurried over to the other side of the bed to help her.

"You see?" she asked, though she smiled to receive my help. "You don't act as if you were bred to be a lady. And you fought in a war, and then…you married Lord Eliwood!"

"I have been very lucky," I murmured.

"I suppose." The servant trailed off, as if something was on her mind. I could see in her eyes that she was wrestling with herself about some matter, arguing over whether she should speak again or not. Finally she looked up at me and said, "M'lady, there have been some rumors going around us servants lately…"

"…Oh?" I asked as I walked back to the windowsill, nervousness suddenly clutching at my heart.

"If I may be so blunt as to ask…" The servant hesitated, but finally blurted out, "M'lady, are you human?"

I stared at her a minute, but slowly my lips curved into a smile. Quietly I answered, "…No."

Her eyes grew very wide, I saw that I had startled her. My smile widened as I continued,

"I'm not a human…I am just a person."

"Oh!" Pure relief shone on the servant's face. "You had me going for a minute…you're such a teaser, m'lady!"

Laughing, she curtseyed and left the room. I returned to the window seat, back to where I could watch the world covered in the evening's dark blanket.

"No…" I whispered happily once the servant was gone, "I am not a teaser…I am just blind."

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_A/N: There we go. Uhg, I had to let out my lame romantics SOMEHOW. I hope it wasn't too…pointless. I mean, I wrote it on a whim (as always) but I hope it doesn't clutter up the site. Anyways…I think I kept Eliwood and Ninian pretty well in character and all that, even as far as their theories went (right?). Who knows, maybe this made you think a bit (grins). Drop a review if you feel so inclined!_


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